Emily in Paris: Netflix’s Newest Trashy Romcom

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 Do you enjoy basic shows with cringey cliches and shallow characters? If so, Emily in Paris may just be the perfect watch for you. Emily in Paris opens with a young American woman Emily unexpectedly landing her dream job as a marketing executive in Paris. After moving across the Atlantic, Emily struggles immensely with the language barrier and the vastly different culture of Paris. Throughout the show, Emily juggles a disagreeable boss, demanding clients, and a love triangle while enjoying many lavish aspects of the Parisian lifestyle.

Your run-of-the-mill romcom fantasy, Emily in Paris is overly predictable and fails to deliver anything special to make it a worthwhile watch. Over the past few decades, numerous American productions such as Gossip Girl and The Pink Panther, have perpetuated outdated stereotypes of Paris lifestyle, and Emily continues this unnecessary trend. As the show progresses through a basic American girl’s eyes, it paints an idealistic vision of Paris as the perfect city of beauty, love, and light. By completely overlooking the poverty and strife that plague the city, the show depicts an impractical single-story narrative of life in Paris. 

In addition, many Parisians have taken offense to the numerous, ignorant cliches of French people set by show. The show reinforces harmful American stereotypes of French people being disloyal, sexist, arrogant, and lazy. Rather than educating people on France and its vibrant people and culture, Emily in Paris ignorantly encourages these unnecessary, harmful stereotypes.

Furthermore, Emily’s career milestones and accomplishments set unrealistically high expectations for today’s youth. At only twenty-four years old, Emily has somehow managed to attain a Masters degree and land her dream job working with top-tier companies in Paris. Without a basic knowledge of French or sufficient marketing experience, she manages to continuously impress her company’s clients, and outshines even her highly experienced French boss. Episode after episode, Emily’s “unique” American perspective manages to save the day and benefit her company. Emily in Paris fantasizes the ideals of a business work life and completely overlooks failure, an integral, inevitable part of our everyday lives. Currently as teens suffer considerable academic and social stresses, Emily’s minimal effort success story at such a young age is frankly the very last thing we need to see.

Despite its numerous shortcomings and impracticality, Emily in Paris may just be the perfect trashy binge watch during quarantine. Emily’s fantastical, dreamy life in Paris complete with lavish gifts, numerous admirers, and fancy restaurants is extremely appealing and in the end keeps viewers hooked. With its cheesy plotline and insanely attractive cast, the show is an addictive, temporary escape from reality and leaves audiences wanting more.